2008 might be a banner year for Nintendo consoles but there were some misses along the way. Here are my top 3 disappointments of 2008.

3. CrossworDS
This simple game for the DS could have been a good puzzle game except Nintendo forgot to work on its puzzle design. I love solving crossword puzzles in the daily newspaper more than playing with this game. I hope that we would not get sloppy games like this in 2009.

2. Wii Music
Nintendo tried to recreate the success of Rockband and Guitar Hero in a simplified game called Wii Music. But what makes Rockband and Guitar Hero successful was the music and the instruments. Now why would you want to wave the Wii remote around to the tune of Material Girl? The song choices and the lack of instruments turned me off from this game.

1. Summer Sports: Paradise Island
I don’t want to see another mini-game collection again. Summer Sports and other games of its type, such as Six Flags Fun Park and Imagine Party Bratz, is waste of your money. One is enough. The mini-games are repetitive and only the characters differ in the game.

2008 was a good year for Wii gamers, well if you were a casual gamer that is. Nintendo successfully converted non-gamers into Wii remote holding zombies. The coming year looks promising for hardcore gamers with a bunch of new releases that they would surely enjoy. Plus, Nintendo announced innovations with regards to the bestselling console.

First off the list is Madworld. I hope that the game is as good as what it’s hyped up to be. Although the game is in black and white with comic-like visuals, it is said to be violent. Well what would you expect with the hero having a chainsaw for a hand? Expect a lot more games of this kind to come to the family oriented Wii when Madworld becomes successful.

Then there’s the sequel Sin and Punishment 2. Because of the great success of the original in Virtual Console, part 2 will be made available worldwide. Treasure promises that the follow up would be much like the first one, fast paced action from start to finish.

Then nostalgia is coming in 2009 with the release of Punch Out! We all played and enjoyed a boxing match in Wii Sports. Here comes the father of all boxing games. The classic gave was revived by Nintendo on the Virtual Console. Hopefully the new Punch Out! would be like the old one that I enjoyed when I as a kid.

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This might come as a surprise for hardcore gamers but Rockstar Leeds’ head Gordon Hall has proclaimed that the upcoming Gran Theft Auto: Cinatown Wars for the DS will be bigger than any GTA games in the PSP.

In the past, Rockstar has managed to place a substantially sized game world in its PSP version. The company has gone into record stating that the DS version will surpass its predecessors. Hall is quoted as stating:

“Chinatown Wars is much bigger than anything we have ever done before [in terms of scope]: more odd jobs, deeper missions, and more moments of over-the-top action. The list goes on and on; this thing is huge.”

It might be hard to believe that the DS’ smaller cartridges can permit a much bigger world than Sony’s UMDs but maybe a compromise has been made in the graphics department. We’ll all see once the game is launched in mid-March of next year.

This is good news for the kids who enjoyed the animated movie The Tale of Despereaux. Atari has made two games based on the movie for the Wii and DS. The games are said to follow the storyline of the movie but the games are totally different from each other.

The Wii version is an adventure game that requires the player to solve puzzles and as little bit of combat involved. Desperaux is tasked to save Princess Pea from her kidnappers. It has 15 levels where you have to use the brave mouse’s skill in order to overcome the obstacles.

The DS version is a side-scroller where you have to use things in the environment in order to go to the next stage. Although the game is a bit short, the controls are great and kids would not be frustrated by it. It also has frequent save points and lots of lives. That spells fun for your young ones.

Among the two, the DS version is the better one. Although you can breeze through a stage very easily, it is expected because the game is made for kids, much like the Barbie and the Dora games. If you still haven’t gotten a Christmas present for a kid aged 10 and below, this might be the one you’re looking for.

Here are my three wishes for Christmas. I hope it’s not too late for Santa to read my wish list. Oh well, it’s better late than never.

Black Nintendo DSi
This is the latest version of Nintendo’s portable gaming console. It has larger screens but less overall size. It has built-in browser and music playback capabilities as well. Definitely a must have for any gamer.

Phantasy Star Zero (DS)
The gameplay remains the same but the storyline is something new. Phantasy Star Zero is a highly anticipated game for the DS that will be released on Christmas day. I hope I get one underneath the tree.

Rock Band 2 (Wii)
The newest version of Harmonix’s rhythm based games. I can’t afford its hefty pricetag that’s why it is on my wish list. Actually I enjoyed the first Rock Band and critics say that the second one will be better. I would definitely be thrilled to get this one, but it would be released 4 days after Christmas (December 29).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is a project that’s been in the shelf for a long time. It was first announced during E3 2005. Then in May of 2007, Square Enix released a trailer that showcased the game’s cinematics and gameplay. But since that time, no official word has come out regarding the game…

…Until now. It is said that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time for the Wii will contain a new trailer for The Crystal Bearers. This would be good news for the franchise’s fans that are dying to get their hands on Crystal Bearers.

This means that the cancellation rumors about the Crystal Bearers are not true. The game’s director Toshiyuki Itahana revealed that the game would have a more mature look unlike the other Crystal Chronicles games. Stay tune for more news on this development. Square Enix surely know how to make Christmas merrier for its fans.

Just when you think that the fitness craze is going away, Nintendo launches another application (I don’t want to call it a game because it’s not one) that would let users feel good about themselves. Walk With Me! for the DS is said to make walking more fun for the users. Its unique incentive system gives them points for every step they take.

Walk With Me! comes with small pedometers to measure the distance travelled by the users. At the end of the week, users would just have to let the pedometers communicate with the DS and it will automatically compute the points you’ve collected.

Nintendo hopes that the game makes more people enjoy staying fit. It even lets people compete with against other users from different countries through its social activity platform.

This is another way to market the DS. It would not just be a gaming console but a fitness gear as well. Hopefully with this move, more gamers would be enticed to live a healthier lifestyle. This is a non-game for the DS that I would recommend for everyone to have.

The results are in and it looks like majority of Nintendo gamers don’t get games like Call of Duty: World at War. Actually it looks like hardcore gamers still prefer better graphics than fancy controls. Judging from the sales totals, gamers preferred the Xbox 360 version. It sold around 1.41 million units. Second is the PS3 version at 600 thousand units. As for the PC, DS, Wii and PS2 versions, they combined for 200 thousand units sold.

The sales numbers disappoint Activision. They spent a lot of money advertising Call of Duty: World at War specifically on Wii gamers. Maybe those who complained about the franchise’s fourth game not available for the Wii didn’t even bother getting the latest. To be honest I got the PS3 version for myself. The Wii version lacks the content that the PS3 version has. Maybe that’s the reason why most gamers did prefer the Xbox360 and the PS3 versions. The other versions just seemed like they’re getting a raw deal.

Not much news this past week. Companies capitalizing on the gaming industry, 2009 releases and lawsuits settled in this week’s Nintendo News roundup.

Megachips Says Profit Will Gain Next Year on Sales to Nintendo
Megachips Corp. is the Japanese semiconductor company that supplies Nintendo’s DS and Wii parts. This helped them through the global recession. They’re expecting the same results next year.

Nintendo Wii and DS Game Releases in Q1 2009
Nintendo has a lot in store for gamers next year. Some notable titles for the DS include Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Monsters VS Aliens, SimAnimals, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. For the Wii we have NASCAR Kart Racing, DanceDanceRevolution Disney Grooves, Sonic and the Black Knight, Tenchu: Shadow Assassin, and Broken Sword: Shadows of the Templars (Director’s Cut).

Nintendo says patent suit with Nyko is settled
Nintendo released a statement saying that it has already settled a patent infringement suit with Nyko regarding the Nunchuk controller. They allowed Nyko to continue on their redesigned Kama wireless controller.

Although there’s no official announcement yet, but Club Nintendo has gone live this week. You can find the company’s frequent buyer program at Nintendo of America’s official web site. There’s a tab on top that would lead to Club Nintendo.

Club Nintendo replaces the My Nintendo program. Members of My Nintendo can login using their username and pass and they would automatically be transferred into Club Nintendo. Gamers from North America should register with Club Nintendo to be able to register their games, receive exclusive news, and enter sweepstakes.

Up for grabs is the Club Nintendo exclusive Game & Watch Collection for the DS that could be redeemed for 800 gold coins. There are lots more in store for members of this exclusive gamers club. For now, Club Nintendo’s server doesn’t seem to be able to cope with the traffic and spends most of its time down. Hopefully Nintendo of America can fix this before Club Nintendo goes out of its testing stages.